(1) The Devil's Hybrid (D. Winchester)

Chapter Thirty-One

The next morning: People in coroner outfits roll a body bag past. Sam watches and sighs. Dean and several other people, some in suits and some in the yellow shirts, also watch. Sam, Erika, and Dean notice each other. Dean addresses another suit, he pulls Erika closer.

"Something about this seem not right to you?" he asks her.

"Uh, yeah, the whole thing, love," she tells him. "I'll never eat popcorn again" she whispers.

"Yeah, right" Dean kisses her head.

..................

Dean is at his computer, frowning at the screen.

"Eri" he states, she stands from her desk and walks into the office. "Help me" he begs, she smirks and sits on his lap.

"What are you looking for?" she asks.

"Personnel file...Paul Dunbar" he answers before turning to kiss her neck, Erika searches the computer before nudging him.

"Here, love," she tells him, Dean leans forward a little and reads the Sandover personnel file for Paul Dunbar. It says his retirement party was supposed to be in two weeks.

"Two weeks?" he asks.

...................

Sam rolls his chair over to Ian's cubicle. Ian is wearing the yellow shirt for the first time and working busily.

"Hey. Why would someone kill themselves two weeks before they were supposed to retire? I mean, Paul was two weeks from freedom. He should have been happy, right?" Sam asks.

"I don't have time for this, Sam," Ian tells him. Sam laughs.

"That's very funny," Sam notices Ian's shirt and attitude. "What's with you?"

"I'm working. It's important"

"HR bust your balls or something? You're wearing the shirt. Did you shave?" A phone rings.

"Tech support, this is Ian. Be right up. Gotta go up to twenty-two, speak to a manager" Ian takes off the headset and leaves.

..............

Erika knocks on Dean's office door, Ian stands at her side. Dean looks up from his computer.

"Thank you, Eri," he tells her she smiles and turns back to her desk. "Hi. Ian, is it? Yeah, come on in. Yesterday you filled out a 445-T and no problem, just a few errors when we did your switch over to Vista. So I'm sure you're used to filling out the dash-R's, am I right?"

"Oh, no"

"No no no. It's fine. It's fine. I just need you to redo one today so I can get the show on the road with the invoicing" Dean pushes a paper over the desk and smiles. Ian looks at it, terrified.

"Oh my god"

"No, it's fine. Just refile it and we're square"

"I can't believe I did this" Dean begins to notice something's wrong. "I can't believe I—I can't believe I did this"

"Hey, guy, come on"

"No, no. It affected profits. It—I screwed up. I—I can't—I can't—I am so sorry. I—how could I do that? I failed Sandover. I failed the company"

"All right, why don't you sit down, Ian?"

"No" Ian runs out of the room. Erika stands from her desk.

"Eri" Dean states.

"I'll get him," she tells him already following Ian.

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